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The Hobart Hurricanes have added 13-year-old Mia Barwick to their squad for the T20 Spring Challenge. Barwick steps in to replace Heather Graham, who has joined the T20 World Cup squad of Australia following Tayla Vlaeminck's injury.
Barwick, a seam bowler, has impressed in the Cricket Tasmania Premier League and has participated in the Under-16 and Under-19 Female National Championships. She served as the drinks carrier during Monday's match against the Perth Scorchers and now has a chance to play in the later stages of this new early-season competition, which serves as preparation for the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL). "At only 13 years of age, the Hobart Hurricanes are proud to see a Cricket Tasmania pathways athlete given exposure to the professional game early on in Barwick's career," Hurricanes said, as per quoted by ESPNcricinfo. With Australia's top players at the T20 World Cup and WBBL overseas players yet to arrive, the T20 Spring Challenge has provided opportunities for young talent to join the squads. At the Sydney Sixers, 15-year-old all-rounder Caoimhe Bray has also made an impact after a strong performance for Australia Under-19s earlier this month. The Spring Challenge was introduced to compensate for the reduced number of games in the WBBL, which now features a 40-game regular season. Initially planned as a state competition, it was restructured to align with WBBL clubs due to pressure from New South Wales and Victoria. In the Women's T20 World Cup, Australia became the first team to qualify for the semi-finals after they defeated India by nine runs in Sharjah on Sunday. Australia opted to bat first after winning the toss. Knocks from Grace Harris (40 in 41 balls, with five fours) and Tahlia McGrath (32 in 26 balls, with four boundaries) helped them reach 151/8. Renuka Singh (2/24) and Deepti Sharma (2/28) were the top bowlers for India. Shreyanka Patil, Pooja Vastrakar and Radha Yadav also got a wicket each. During the run-chase of 152 runs, India lost some early wickets, but a partnership between Deepti Sharma (29 in 25 balls, with three fours) and skipper Harmanpreet (54* in 47 balls, with six fours) took India to touching distance of a win. India needed 14 runs in the final over, but Annabel Sutherland left India nine runs short of the winning total with her consistent bowling. Sutherland (2/22) and Molineux (2/32) were the top bowlers for Australia. Schutt and Gardner got one wicket each. (ANI)
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